IGP STORMS OWERRI, SAYS COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP POLICING WILL CONTINUE IN IMO

The Inspector General of the Nigeria Police (IGP), Mr Solomon Arase was in Owerri the Imo State capital yesterday as part of his working tour of states in the federation.

During the tour, the IGP paid a courtesy visit to Governor Rochas Okorocha at the Government House, Owerri where he explained that the purpose of his tour is to get acquainted with his men instead of sitting in his office and dishing out instructions without feeling the pulse of his men physically, adding that in the course of such visits, he would interact with the Traditional Rulers, stakeholders and other related bodies on the way forward as it concerns security.

He said he would continue to ensure community partnership policing and that was one of his reasons for reaching out to Traditional Rulers and stakeholders to assist since the manpower the police has in the states is inadequate to tackle the challenges that are inherent.

He assured that the Nigeria Police Force would continue to give the state necessary support to help the government deliver good governance to Imo people, adding that the state must be peaceful and secured to attract direct foreign investors.

Responding, Governor Rochas Okorocha commended the IGP, Mr. Solomon Arase for changing the face of the Police Force within his short period in office, and asked him to sustain the momentum.

He said the government and people of the state have been enjoying a very cordial working relationship with the Police and this has helped in reducing crime to the barest minimum in the state.

According to him, the major success in the fight against crime the state came from the Community Government arrangement in which the Traditional Rulers are now made the Chief Security Officers of their communities, working with the Police, and with the introduction of Imo Security Network, Imo Community Watch and Imo Civil Guards.

In his words, “I have always said that Boko Haram is not more powerful than the natives but the over reliance on the central structure to help out in this kind of crisis has made the natives powerless. There is need to empower the locals who know all the routes used by the insurgents. They can easily pinpoint which among their brothers and sisters are criminals, and that would make the works of the security agencies easy.”

Speaking further at the occasion, Governor Okorocha said that Imo is the fastest growing city in Nigeria now, so it needs more Policemen to tackle the inherent challenges. He said Imo is also more centralized to house the zone 9 headquartersthe Nigerian Police of than any other state, adding that the state government would donate a building if the relocation is given approval.

On the funding of the police, Governor Okorocha advocated collaboration between the federal government and the state governors to provide the police with their needs to keep security tight in our society.